Moonrise/Chapter 24
Chapter description :Leafpaw wails to help them, then wakes with a start and sees that she’s in her nest in Cinderpelt’s den. The stench of monsters hangs in the air. Leafpaw curls deeper into the moss, shuddering as the wisps of her dream hang in her head. She had been standing by the Thunderpath, watching monsters crush cats beneath their paws, and blood had run like a river on the forest floor. She had turned to Spottedleaf and desperately pled with her to save them, but Spottedleaf had said that there was nothing more StarClan could do. Then she had woken up. :Leafpaw rises to her feet and staggers across the medicine den. Cinderpelt’s nest lies empty, and Leafpaw wonders if another emergency had called her away. A whimper rises in her throat, but she bites it down, promising to do the best to help her Clan even if their warrior ancestors are helpless. A rustle behind her alerts Leafpaw, and she turns to see Cinderpelt padding into the den. Her tail is dropping, but she tries to brighten up at the sight of Leafpaw. Leafpaw asks what happened, and Cinderpelt says that she saw Frostfur. Seeing Leafpaw’s expression, Cinderpelt informs Leafpaw that Frostfur is not dying, but is in fact getting better, and that she doesn’t have Greencough. Leafpaw says that that’s good, but that hunger will be their real enemy. Cinderpelt nods and says that if more cats disappear, there won’t be enough warriors to catch prey for the kits and elders. Leafpaw offers to go on a hunting patrol and try and catch something for Frostfur, and Cinderpelt says it’s a good idea, although she might not find much out there. Leafpaw doesn’t argue, and pads through the ferns into the main clearing. :Sandstorm and Rainwhisker appear at the mouth of the gorse tunnel with fresh-kill in their jaws. Spiderpaw and Shrewpaw lie in a patch of sunlight outside the apprentice’s den, and Dustpelt and Ferncloud share tongues near the nursery. Firestar and Brackenfur talk together at the base of the Highrock. At first it seems like nothing has changed, until Leafpaw realizes what she’s really seeing. :Firestar and Brackenfur look worried. The apprentices lie motionless, not scuffling around like they used to. The fresh-kill pile looks pitifully small as Sandstorm and Rainwhisker drop their prey on it. As Leafpaw pads past the nursery, Dustpelt pushes a mouse toward Ferncloud, whose appearance horrifies Leafpaw; she looks like a skeleton, every bone visible under her fur. Dustpelt mews that Ferncloud must eat, for Hollykit and Birchkit’s sake. The reek of monsters fills the air, and Leafpaw sees a vision of them breaking through the walls of the camp and crushing cats beneath them. She blinks, forcing the images away. She heads toward Firestar and Brackenfur, remembering the encounter she had with Hawkfrost the previous day. She hadn’t told any cat about his plans to take over ThunderClan, and had asked Sorreltail not to say anything either. She couldn’t burden Firestar even more by telling him that his greatest enemy, Tigerstar, lives on in his son, who is neither ravaged by Twolegs nor weakened by hunger. :As Leafpaw nears her father, she hears him mew to Brackenfur to try hunting near Twolegplace, farthest away from the monsters. A cry of pain interrupts him, and Leafpaw turns to see Graystripe and Mousefur stumble out of the gorse tunnel. One of Mousefur’s forelegs hangs useless, and her brown fur is sticking up as though she was in a fight, although Leafpaw can’t scent any blood. Firestar bounds across the clearing to her, and Leafpaw follows. Firestar demands to know who did this, but Mousefur just groans. Graystripe spits that they went too close to the monsters, and a Twoleg grabbed her. Firestar stares in astonishment, and Leafpaw tells Mousefur to come and see Cinderpelt. Leafpaw pads close to Mousefur on the way to the medicine den, trying to help with the pain by letting her lean on her shoulder. Graystripe walks beside Firestar behind them, saying that Twolegs were swarming all over instead of in their monsters as usual, and that one of them tried to grab Mousefur. Firestar appears baffled, and wonders why the Twolegs are doing this now when they have always ignored the cats. Mousefur gasps that at least she gave them a few scratches to remember her by. :Leafpaw races ahead to alert Cinderpelt, who is sitting at the mouth of her den. She yowls that Mousefur is hurt, and Cinderpelt leaps to her paws with a cry of surprise. She closes her eyes and composes herself, then tells Mousefur to come and lie down. She does, and Cinderpelt runs her nose along the injured leg. She tells Mousefur that it’s dislocated, and that she can put it back, but it will hurt. She tells Leafpaw to fetch some poppy seeds, which she does. Mousefur licks them up. Leafpaw listens to her father and Graystripe talking together at the mouth of the tunnel. Firestar says that he’ll order everyone to stay away from Twolegs, and Graystripe says that StarClan won’t let them be destroyed. Firestar shakes his head, then walks back into the clearing. Graystripe, after a worried glance at Mousefur, follows him. :When Mousefur is starting to fall asleep, Cinderpelt tells Leafpaw to start. She points to Mousefur’s other foreleg and tells Leafpaw to hold it down, and watch carefully. Leafpaw carefully positions herself, and Cinderpelt takes Mousefur’s leg firmly in her teeth. She pulls, and Leafpaw hears a sharp click as Mousefur jerks and lets out a yowl. Cinderpelt examines Mousefur’s shoulder again, and asks if she can put weight on it. Mousefur tries and staggers from exhaustion, but stays on her paws. Cinderpelt tells Mousefur to get some sleep, and that she’ll check on her again later. Cinderpelt tells Leafpaw that she did well and that she can go and hunt now. Leafpaw asks if she’s sure, and Cinderpelt replies that there’s nothing more they can do with StarClan’s silence. Cinderpelt’s despair appalls Leafpaw, and Leafpaw knows that she can’t reassure her mentor after the message from Spottedleaf. Leafpaw proclaims that she’s going to find out what happened to the missing cats, including Cloudtail and Brightheart. Cinderpelt is shocked, and asks what will happen if Leafpaw doesn’t come back. Leafpaw says that they have to find out the truth, and Cinderpelt agrees to let Leafpaw go, but tells her to be careful and that the Clan can’t afford to lose her. :Leafpaw slips out of the fern tunnel, and can immediately sense that a change has fallen over the Clan. News of Mousefur’s wound has spread, and the air is choked with the scent of fear and despair. Leafpaw wants to spring up onto the Highrock and tell them not to give up, but knows that they wouldn’t listen to an apprentice. Leafpaw makes up her mind to go to Firestar and tell him everything she knows about the cats who were sent away by StarClan, thinking that it might give him some comfort. She decides to tell him about Hawkfrost too, realizing that she is sick of secrets. But she decides to look for the missing cats first, in case Firestar punishes her for not telling him by confining her to camp. She makes her way to the warrior’s den and calls out for Sorreltail. :Sorreltail pokes her head out through the branches and asks Leafpaw what’s going on. Leafpaw thinks back to when she had asked her friend to come to WindClan, and how she had been bright and energetic then. Now her eyes stare blankly, and her fur looks dull. Leafpaw explains her plan and asks Sorreltail to come with her, and Leafpaw is relieved to see Sorreltail’s eyes brighten. Sorreltail agrees to go, saying it’s better than lying around camp all day. Both cats slip out through the gorse tunnel, and Leafpaw follows Graystripe and Mousefur’s scent to the scarred land the Twolegs had ravaged. She had been this way before, but is astonished to see how much more land the Twolegs have destroyed in such a short time. There are Twoleg nests there, made of wood instead of the red stone of Twolegplace. Sorreltail and Leafpaw crouch in the shelter of one, peering out at the Twolegs. Leafpaw can feel Sorreltail quivering and smell the fear-scent rolling off her, but knows that there is no way she is going back now, not when she’s so close to finding out what happened to Cloudtail and Brightheart. Leafpaw points with her tail to a wooden Twoleg den too small for Twolegs to fit inside, and asks what it is. Sorreltail shrugs, saying that it’s some Twoleg thing. Leafpaw says she’s going to look. :Leafpaw creeps across the open ground. She hears Sorreltail behind her, telling her to be careful. As Leafpaw draws closer, she picks up the scent of food. It is different from the familiar scent of prey, but Leafpaw’s mouth waters, and she has to resist the urge to dash forward and eat, knowing that whatever the Twolegs put there is dangerous. Leafpaw blinks as another scent reaches her, one of a cat. She tries to recognize it, but only figures out that it’s not from ThunderClan, until she realizes that it’s the scent of Mistyfoot, the RiverClan deputy. Leafpaw peers into the den, but Mistyfoot isn’t there, only a strange white thing. :The food scent is even stronger inside. Slowly, Leafpaw creeps closer, and sees that the white thing holds small brown pellets like rabbit droppings, which smell strongly of food and Twolegs. Leafpaw wonders if this is the kittypet food Firestar told her about. She bends down and takes a mouthful, shivering as it slides into her empty belly. She wonders if she can take some back for Frostfur. A deafening chorus of voices suddenly seems to ring in Leafpaw’s ears, telling her to get out. Sorreltail is there, but there are many more she can’t recognize, and Spottedleaf’s is loudest of all. Leafpaw chokes on her mouthful of pellets, turning around to catch a glimpse of Sorreltail staring at her in horror. Then the end of the den slams shut, and Leafpaw is trapped in darkness. Characters Major *Leafpaw Minor *Cinderpelt *Rainwhisker *Sandstorm *Firestar *Brackenfur *Graystripe *Mousefur *Dustpelt *Ferncloud *Sorreltail }} Mentioned *Hawkfrost *Tigerstar *Birchkit *Hollykit *Cloudtail *Brightheart *Mistyfoot }} Important events Other *Leafpaw is captured by Twolegs. Notes and references Category:Moonrise Category:Chapter subpages Category:The New Prophecy arc